Apparatus for the manufacture of golf balls



April 26, 1932. o. J. KUHLKE 1,855,717

; APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GOLF BALLS Original Filed May 31,1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 i INVENTOR.

A TTORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 26, 1932 UNITED STATES OTTO 4 J. KUHLKE,

OF AKRON, OHIO APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GOLF BALLS Originalapplication filed may 31,1928, Serial No. 281,845. Divided and thisapplication filed April 12,-

- The present invention relates to the manufacture of golf balls andparticularly to the manufacture of the resilient rubbercore.

In the manufacture of thestandard golf ball, the center or core of theball is wound with a thread rubber ofhigh grade rubber, the thread beingwound under tensionto impart the required life and resilient propertiesto the ball. Theresilient mass of rubber thus obtained is ofcomparatively short life and due to the method of winding, soon losesits elastic qualities,.aresult which may be observed in cutting a golfball, the thread rubber being limp and lifeless.

It is the object of the present invention to devise a new and improvedapparatus for winding or overlayingthe rubber upon the core so as tosecure a better and more lively construction of the ball. This isaccomplished by the device illustrated and described, although thedetails of the apparatus are not essential and may be varied within thescope of the invention.

The product of the machine and process is a new form of golf ballwhich'forms the subject matter of copending application Serial No.281,845, now Patent No. 1,715,661, dated June 4, 1929, of which thisapplication is a division.

Briefly stated, the invention comprises the wrapping or winding of atube of rubber about the core of the ball, the tube being stretchedtosecure the proper resiliency: of the rubber and the winding takingplace about the core in such a way that a spherical center is obtained.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a general plan view of anapparatusappropriate for carrying out the invention, the view being alongitudinal section through the winding Ine'chanismand being taken atthe commencement of the winding operation; 1 V

Figure 2-is a view of the'mold or rolling tube showing the means bywhichthe rubber cover is given the preliminary stretch;

' Figure 3 is a detail of the head at the commencement of the windingoperation;

Figure 4 is a view-showing the mitlation of the rolling operation;

Serial No. 354,502.

Figure 5 is a further view showing details of the mechanism;

Figure 6 is a cross-section on the line 66 of Figure 3; and

Figure 7 is a section on the lin'e.7,7 of Figure 1. 5 The apparatuscomprises a forming mold or tube 1, which is in the form of a long,tapered or conical chamber, the smaller end being of substantially'thesameinner diameter as the core 2 of the golf ball and the larger end ofsubstantially the same diameter as the completely wound or wrappedcenter. The core is wound' witha sheath or' tube of thin, high graderubber 3 which is in normal or unstretched condition as shown,substantially one-fourth of the diameter. and length of the tube orsheath before stretching preparatory to the wrapping operation althoughthe percentage of stretch may be varied within wide limits, and which istapered to substantially the same extent as the mold. The smaller end ofthe tube is stretched over the core and fastened to the core by beingcemented about its edges.

The tube with the ball therein is then placed in the mold and the largerend of the tube isstretched over a cap 5 which is later mounted on aguide for movement to clamp the mouth of the tube against the mold.

Air under pressure is admitted through an inlet pipe 7 to theinterior-of the cap and to the interior of the tube, the pressure beingsufficiently high to stretch. the tube' outwardly against the wallof,the mold and to drivethe core to the far end of the'mold, thereby givingthe required longitudinal stretch. This causes the tube 3 to bestretched equallyin all directions. At this stage of the operation thesmaller end'of the mold is open to permit escape. of air .in front ofthe core. The

mounted the pusher head 15, this head being rotatable upon a center pin16 and held against the wear plate by a spring 18, a ball race 20 beinginterposed between the parts M and 15. Theaperture 21 about the pin 16is cut away as shown to permit freedom of movement to the head.-

To the pusher 15 are pivoted a plurality of swinging fingers 22, theouter ends of which are provided with rollers 23. Six of these rollersare shown, their function being toengage the core 2 and roll it in themold. If the core were to be pushed without changing its axis ofrotation, the tube would roll up onthe ball in a definite zone. It isdesirable to change the axis of rotation of the ball constantly duringthe rolling operation in order to distribute the folds in t'he jacketevenly about the entire surface of the core. Forthis reason the plungeris rotated as it is moved through the inold, whi-le.the head isnon-rotative. a

To rotate the plunger, the shaft 11 is rotata'bl'y mounted in-a crosshead 25, which is supported on guide rod 26. The cross head is moved bya piston rod 28nrovable in a fluid pressure cylinder 30 paralleling themold and actuated by pressure admitted at the ends of the cylinderthrough a control valve 32 from a main air tank 34; which also suppliesthe air for'the inlet 7; v Supported in thefhead 25 is a rotatablethreaded shaft 36 which isengaged by a pin 37 on the mold. The shaft 36geared to the shaft Ell'through gearing 38. It will thus be seen that asthe carrier 25 advances, rotation will be imparted to the shaft 11 fromthe threaded shaft 36 and intermesh-ing gearing. This will tend to-rotate'the head. Due to the angular setting-ofthe head the rotation ofthe plunger 10 will rock the plate and thus advancethe rollers 23 intocontact with the core in succession around the interior of thec hainher.This will apply "a continuous force to the core in a spiral path and thedirection of rotation of thecore will be constantly-changed as a resultthereof.

- During 'the wrapping or rolling process it isjneo'es'sary to keep theenvelopeor tube of rubber at a constant degree of expansion :or

e tension. Itmay be desirable to equalizethe l pressure upon oppositesides of the core which can be done through a connecting pipe 40. 'Thepressure in the supply tank is maintained u niform through any suitableaccumulator.

It will be seen that when "the ball is forced to the largerend of themold it will have built up thereon amu l'tipleseries of crossing foldsor flutes of rubber under a uniform tension Whi-chgives the requiredelasticity to the golf ball center. 'With thetubularijacket or'sheaththere are no exposed edges of, rubber as enzcountered in the usualthread rubber winding, and therubb'er sheath, therefore, cannot frayorbreak down at the edges whichis the cause fof'the thread rubber losingits elasticity and its life and resiliency. After the Wind- 111goperation is completed the cap 5 is removed and the wound balldischarged from the mold. It is then covered and completed in any wellknown or accepted manner. The invention may be appliedto other playingballs or wherever a highly resilient spherical object isrequired.

What is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus for the purposes set forth, means for holding a tubeof rubber in tubular form with its inner surface unobru ndmea s fo l inga c ax a ly andinternally of the tube whereby the rubber is rolled upabout the core.

2. In an apparatus for the purposes set forth, means for maintaining atapering tube of rubber distendedland under tension, and means forrolling a core from the smaller to the larger end of the tube.

3. In an apparatus for the purposes set forth, means for holding a tubeof rubber in tubular form with its inner surface unobstructed, means forrolling a core axially bf the tube whereby rubber is rolled up about thecore and means for simultaneously rolling the core about its center. 7

4. In an apparatus for the purposes set forth, means for maintaining atapering tube of rubber distended, and means for forcing a core fromthesmaller to theilaagereI-rd of the tube and simultaneously rolling thecore about its center. r 5. In an apparatus for the purposes set forth,an elongated mold having a iconical bore, means at the larger end of thetube for closing the :same and for clamping a tube of rubber, means forexpanding the tube of rubber against the interior of the bore, and apusher movable along the bore to roll a core inwardly .sof the tube.

6. In an apparatus for the purposes :set forth, an elongated mold having:a conical bore, means at the lar er end of the tube for closing the:sameand or clamping a tube of rubber, means for expanding the tube ofrubbern'gainst the interior of the bore, and a pusher movable along thebone to roll :a core inwardly of the tube, the :pusher being providedwith means to change thedirection of rotation of the core. o

7. In an apparatus for the purposes set forth, :an elongated moldhaving-a ibore [thereinymeans forholdi-nga tubeof rubberagainst theinterior oft he-bore,-and-a pusher movable through the bore andhavingmeans to-engage a'coreto force it into thetube.

8. In an apparatus for the purposes set forth, an-elongated meldhaving abore therein, means for hold-ingia {tube of rubberagaiznst the interiorof the bore, and.a .pusherrmovable through the boreand havingmeans .toengage a core to roll it inwardly ofgthe tube and .si- :multaneouslytoohangethedirection of metation of the core.

9. In an apparatus for the purposes set forth, an elongated mold havinga bore therein, means for holding a tube of rubber against the interiorof the bore, and a pusher movable through the bore and having means toengage a core to roll it inwardly of the tube and simultaneously tochange the direction of rotation of the core, said means comprising ahead having a plurality of fingers and means to bring the fingers incontact with the core in succession.

10. An apparatus for the purpose set forth comprising a mold having anelongated bore, a plunger movable along the bore, a pusher head on theplunger, a plurality of fingers on the head, and means for oscillatingthe head to bring the fingers successively in contact with a core.

11. An apparatus for the purpose set forth comprising a mold having anelongated bore, a plunger movable along the bore, a pusher head on theplunger, said head having a plurality of fingers to engage a core, andmeans for bringing the several fingers into operation successivelyduring the movement of the plunger.

12. An apparatus for the purpose set forth comprising a mold having anelongated bore, a plunger movable along the bore, a pusher head on theplunger, said head having a plurality of fingers to engage a core, meansfor bringing the several fingers into operation successively during themovement of the plunger, and means to hold a sheath of rubber instretched condition within the bore.

13. An apparatus for the purpose set forth comprising a mold having anelongated bore, a plunger movable along the bore, a pusher head on theplunger, said head having a plurality of fingers to engage a core, meansfor bringing the several fingers into operation successively during themovement of the plunger, and a fluid supply connected to the interior ofthe mold to hold a sheath of rubber in stretched condition within thebore.

OTTO J. KUHLKE.

